Shall never kill no matter what
by Phillipe363
Summary: Batman, Superman and Robin have been after The Joker for his latest crime wave leaving a trial of dead bodies behind. However close to finally catching The Joker something goes wrong and Batman ends up in The Joker and Harley Quinn's clutches. Batman wakes up to discover The Joker's newest plan is to put his no kill rule to the ultimate test. What will be the outcome? Find out!


**Hey guys**

 **So originally, I had shelved this story and may not have returned to it but in conversation with Arlyss Maligue over private messaging I decided to finish what I started.**

 **Don't own anything for Batman, Justice League, or anything DC related.**

* * *

Inside of a warehouse

Batman tied to a chair by zip ties, with slowly awakening with a groan. Briefly remembers Tim and him fighting on The Joker's goons inside a pharmacy plant on the maniac's recent crime spree from Metropolis to Gotham, where he's left a trail of innocent bodies in his path. Robin and him were fighting The Joker's goons when they got overwhelmed and he got knocked out.

Slowly awakening he notices some several feet away is apparently The Joker while bound to chair with wires running to a box like machine, while next to him is young kid who is alive, but with his mouth taped shut and tied to the chair.

Wonders what The Joker is doing now but knows he must get out of this mess. Managing to easily break the zip ties Batman stands up, but stops when feeling something attached to his leg, which is the clamp around his right foot with a cable that runs to the machine as well.

"I wouldn't move another inch bats, if you wish for us to live" The Joker said with a maniac grin.

"Now what have you done? Where's Robin?" Batman asked.

"Oh, bird boy is still where I left him. I didn't need him, just you. For the purposes of this, let's call that young boy who is nicely sitting in the chair Joe like just any good ole Ricky." The Joker said.

"What are you doing this time?" Batman asked, internally relieved Robin is still alive.

"Harley bring out my tools, dear" The Joker said sweetly.

"Of course, Puddin" Harley said while pushing a cart over near Batman, which has a few items on it including a handgun with a small electronic strip on the grip.

Batman narrows his eyes, at the gun wondering what the point of this is.

"Here you go bats, you have a choice to make. Kill me or Joe dies. Which would be a shame, since he has a lovely family. If you don't kill me the machine the three of us are hooked up to, will send a powerful shock into Joe's body" The Joker said.

"I didn't approve but there's a device inside Mr. J's body that will when reaches past a certain timer point will kill the kid anyway. The only way to stop it is to kill Puddin because the device inside him will only stop when there's no heart beat left" Harley said smiling.

"Oh, one more thing you can't shoot the machine because any slight tampering with it, including a bullet which cause it to kill the kid. And the electric strip on that gun I got from Lex boy recognizes all our DNA, so it can't fire on any of us. If you try and get a device from your utility belt a motion sensor on the clamp on your ankle will go and off which by now take a wild guess for what will still happen" The Joker explains smiling.

"Why are you doing this?" Batman growls out angrily.

"Because we all know you have a no kill rule. All you heroes do, and I want to set up a no-win situation so you will be forced to play by my rules. Let's find out what you value more, is your no kill rule of some moral dipply do or this innocent child's life?" The Joker asked.

"Your insane" Batman replied hate filled.

"Oh, please that's well known. I have a body count over the thousands, and I lost count somewhere over uh six hundred I think. Anyway, not important, you're wasting time bats" Joker said with a smile.

Batman grabs the gun with pointing it at The Joker's head and debates pulling the trigger. He's always lived by killing anybody will make you into the very evil monsters your trying to fight and given how he took a vow to never kill due to what happened to his parents.

How he never wants another family or somebody else to suffer because of him taking a life. Plus, it's not up for him to decide who lives and dies but rather the court system. Given it's The Joker, it's not like he doesn't have enough hatred to kill him multiple times over but regardless that's not the right way.

But this child will die if he doesn't kill. So, what's the choice of either killing The Joker which would be all too easy or letting this child die. Which is greater, his rule or an innocent person's life?

Tightening his finger around the trigger while the sweat pours down his face, Batman knows it's not his choice to make. This is what The Joker wants to prove all it takes is one bad day and he won't ever break his rules, for no one.

Letting out a scream of anguish Batman drops the gun to the ground, while glaring at insane clown.

"I can't. I won't do it" Bruce replied in defeat.

"That's what I figured bats. The ironic thing is your no better than me. We are two sides of the same coin" Joker said with a smile.

"I'm nothing like you" Bruce growls.

Suddenly Joe's screams or tires to because of the duct tape as the electricity course through his body before the kid mercifully slumps over dead.

"No" Batman yells out in anger and guilt.

The Joker and Harley Quinn's response to simply laugh in joy at seeing Batman in pain and the kid dead.

"Well that was fun" The Joker said happily while untying himself and climbing out of the chair.

Bruce pulling a tiny circle device from his belt, drops it right down onto the clamp which causes it to short circuit and unlock. Harley grabbing her mallet from the cart tries to attack Batman which he easily dodges and kicks her in the chest then punches her in the face sending her to the floor out cold.

"Woo, looks like it's time to make my exit plan. Always wonder where he gets all these wonderful toys" Joker said laughing while running for the nearest door.

Batman grabbing a small canister throws it across the room, exploding at Joker's feet into a liquid causing him to go sliding into the floor. The Dark Knight runs over to the Joker who is getting up off the floor and sees Batman only a few feet away.

"Uh maybe we should discuss this? Can we discuss this first?" The Joker said with some obvious fear and his hands raised.

Batman responds by punching Joker in the face then gives brutal blows to the insane man's chest breaking his ribs, before kicking Joker's right knee cap dislocating it.

Letting out a yell of pain, Joker falls to the ground in pain where Batman rage filled at the child's death delivers a few more punches to Joker's face shattering his jaw bone and breaking his nose, leaving the sociopath's face with various spots of blood on it.

Grabbing Joker by the throat, Batman delivers a finale blow to Joker's face rendering him out cold, before dropping his body to the floor.

Suddenly hearing the glass break Batman turns to see Superman fly through a roof window and land on his feet.

Looking around in horror "What on earth happened here?" Superman asked.

"Explain some other time. Help me get them to the Arkham hospital and get the boy's body to the morgue" Batman orders.

* * *

The following day in the watchtower observation room

In his causal clothes Bruce is standing by the window looking down at earth below. Clark of his own causal clothes being a flannel shirt and blue jeans with his glasses, is standing nearby.

Bruce just finishes up explaining to Clark what happened and Clark despite all he seen does his best to keep his horror and disgust down. Then again, it's The Joker and it's always insane for damage the lunatic brings.

"All I've ever wanted to do is kill him. A day doesn't go by that I don't think about it, but if I do that, if I allow myself to go down into that place... I'll never come back from that path" Bruce replied.

"You made the right choice. Joker kidnapped that kid and killed him, not you. This is not your burdened to carry. The machine was probably rigged to kill the kid either way" Clark said.

"No, I took it apart piece by piece with the device the surgeons removed from The Joker and the machine would have not gone off if I had killed The Joker" Bruce said.

"Bruce, you know better than anyone how killing once always leads to an excuse to do it again and what separates us from them is we are not murders. We don't ever kill because it's always wrong" Clark said.

"I know. It's just the kid is dead because of me" Bruce replied.

"I could have gotten there faster but I failed to. You're not the only one who failed to save that kid. Joker and Harley Quinn killed the kid, not you" Clark said in a supportive tone.

"I guess Harley could have killed the kid, even if I did kill The Joker. Even the Joker is still a person and it's up the court system to decide people's fate not ours" Bruce said.

From the door way "Wow, you two are couple of ego stroking politicians" a male voice said.

Clark and Bruce turn to see Oliver Queen standing a few feet from the door way.

"What do you want?" Clark asked, little harsher than probably necessary.

"I've killed when forced to as a last resort despite the fact I try to avoid it" Oliver said.

"You mean murder people? Because that's what you're doing Oliver, killing people who will never ever get a chance to redeem themselves" Bruce replied, lightly snarling.

"I haven't really killed that many criminals, maybe twenty at most. Besides like I said, when I didn't have any other choice. The thing is Bruce you put your moral code above an innocent person's life. Your no hero" Oliver replied angrily.

"Like I said excuses makes it easier" Clark said.

Sighing "You know I'm not wasting my time with the likes of people who are enablers to psychotic killers. Given that's basically this entire League I really have to question why I ever joined, in the first place. You willingly let innocent people die all so you can consider yourselves heroes makes me sick. I don't belong here" Oliver said, furiously and in disgust.

"Good bye" Clark said.

A finale glare, Oliver turns around and walks out of the room.

"He's wrong. I may not have made the easy choice, but I made the right one" Bruce said.

Clark simply nods in agreement.

* * *

 **Now I bet a lot of you are wondering why I wrote this given how horrifying and messed up the story is. Here's why.**

 **Basically, I decided to take Batman and well for the heroes in general who have this no killing policy to the ultimate extreme to show the result in this belief.**

 **Which is Batman placing his no killing morals on such high importance that he refuses to break them knowing an innocent child will get killed.**

 **You might go, "Oh but he should have taken the shot since that would have been a justifiable killing in that situation" yeah that's not going to work. Remember the heroes don't ever kill under any circumstances according to this rule that can't ever be broken.**

 **I highly doubt you'll ever see this in a comic, TV show, film or something with these costumed people following this no kill rule so darn strict under the conditions I used here. For the very reasons I shown.**

 **In particular with Batman, I had to make sure there was no third way out when Joker and Harely put Batman in that situation.**

 **Since in the comics and such I've seen Bruce forced into these situations, but there's always some third way out so Batman never really has to make the choice between an innocent person or breaking his code.**

 **Until next time**


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